The Mt. Pleasant Farmer’s Market started up for the season Thursday in Island Park, with vendors lining the road south of the skate park to make room for Summer Festival preparations going on in the park. Vendors old and new set up tents and put out their wares – flowers, herb plants, maple syrup, baked goods, handmade soaps and the first fresh local produce arrivals of summer 2013: asparagus and rhubarb.

Emma Currie, chef at the Brass Café in Mt. Pleasant, has tips to offer in her column for making the most of timing when local produce will be available at the market during the summer. I went with her while she made her rounds at the market, saying hello to vendors of previous years and meeting vendors new to the market this year.

One of the new faces this year is Matt Browne, from Perrinton, who said he will be at the market for the first five weeks or so with his perennial flowers. His pots of perennials were lined up orderly along the side of the street while community members browsed and contemplated additions to their gardens.

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Also at the market for the first time this year is Katie Morey and Brandon Morey of Mt. Pleasant, who opened up business for the first time Thursday with Crep, a food truck dedicated to crepes and coffees. Crep offers breakfast crepes, savory crepes such reuben, pizza or caprese crepes, and dessert crepes. Katie’s brother Chris Mascho was with them to lend a hand for their inaugural day as the Morey’s experienced their first day in the food truck.

“We started making the crepes for friends,” said Brandon Morey. “We did a little research and were like ‘why not?’ It’s fun.” The Morey’s purple and green food truck with the colorful chalkboard menu will be located in the patio area of the pavilion when the market moves back to its regular spot.

I ordered the Strawberry Cheese-Crepe, which Katie Morey said is their most popular recipe. Katie disappeared from the window of the food truck into the tiny kitchen where she cooked the crepe on the skillet and then filled it with cheesecake filling, strawberries and nutella, then presented it wrapped in deli paper tucked in a cardboard cone. The crepes are large - more than enough to share and are delivered warm, gooey and with enthusiasm by the young business owners. I brought my crepe back to the office and shared it with several coworkers, causing reporter Randi Shaffer to make a run over to the market to get her own for lunch and check out the new local business.

Isaac Martin of Clare was at the market with asparagus, jam, maple syrup and a sign for sold-out duck’s eggs – he said he raises pigs, chickens, ducks and sheep on his farm and is raising an additional 30 ducks to meet the demand for duck’s eggs.

The Mt. Pleasant Farmer’s Market is held every Thursday in Island Park beginning at 7:30 a.m. This year the Saturday market will be located behind City Hall at 320 W. Broadway.

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Holly Mahaffey is the Morning Sun Community Engagement Producer. She may be reached at 989-779-6063, hmahaffey@michigannewspapers.com, or follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/holly.mahaffey.